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AICRP on PET Center at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar

INTRODUCTION

The use of plastics has revolutionized the agricultural production systems e.g., field crops, vegetables, fruits, fishery, animal production, etc. Enough technologies have been developed in this direction, which are being used by farming communities all over the country. The ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on “Plasticulture Engineering & Technology” formerly known as “Application of Plastics in Agriculture”. The AICRP on PET center at ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar is working on the use of plastics in aquaculture and has developed few gadgets and systems made of partially or fully with different plastic materials. The design and fabrication of these plastic gadgets and systems have been done considering the biological requirements of the aquaculture. The new plastic gadgets/systems with the blend of aquaculture techniques are being used for biodiversity conservation, production enhancement per unit area, and employment and entrepreneurship generation in fisheries sector.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Title

PI

Duration

1.

Design, Development and Testing of Carp Seed Transportation System in Plastics

Dr.B.C. Mohapatra,

Apr.2017- Mar. 2019

2.

Development of a low cost Aquaponics System using Plastics for urban aquaculture

Portable carp hatchery fully made up of fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) has been suitably designed and developed for small/marginal fish farmers. The system is suitable for small scale breeding with production capacity of 10-12 lakhs spawn in one operation. The hatchery possesses several advantages viz., i) easy transportation to different locations, ii) easy to install and operate, iii) requirement of less water for breeding and spawn production, iv) requirement of less space for installation and can even be placed on a pond dyke, v) easy to repair and replace minor fittings, and vi) low capital investment.

The FRP Carp Hatchery System (for production of 1.0 million spawn per operation) consists of four major parts i.e.,

Breeding/ spawning pool

Hatching/ incubation pool

Egg/ spawn collection chamber, and

Overhead storage tank/ water supply system

The Breeding pool is of 2.15 m diameter, 0.9 m height, 1:22 bottom slope and 3409 liter capacity (operation capacity: 2950 liter). To provide water circulation inside the breeding pool 5 numbers of 15 mm diameter rigid PVC elbows, carrying nipples fitted in the same direction. A single point water inlet of 25 mm diameter is also fitted at the sidewall of the bottom. All the water inlet pipes are inter connected and fitted with individual full way valves to regulate the flow of water. One shower is provided at the top for better aeration. The flow rate during egg collection is maintained 1.0-1.5 l/sec. The system is suitable for fish breeding of 20-24 kg of carps (both male and female) in single operation.

The Hatching or incubation pool is of 1.4 m diameter, 0.98 m height, 1400 liter total volume and 1200 liter net egg incubation volume with a FRP inner chamber (0.4 m diameter and 90 cm height covered with nylon bolting cloth of 0.25 mm mesh to filter the excess water to the drain), water supply system through six numbers of 15 mm diameter duck-mouths fitted at the bottom of the hatchery at 45o angle. It also has drainage outlets fitted at the center and at the outer chamber of the pool. It has the capacity of hatching 1.0 - 1.2 million eggs per operation. The flow rate in the pool during operation is maintained at 0.3-0.4 l/sec.

The Eggs/ spawn collection tank is rectangular size of 1.0 ´ 0.5 ´ 0.5 m with 250 liter water holding capacity. The water level in the tank is maintained at a height of 0.45 m (net water volume 225 liter) by fixing the drainpipe of 63 mm diameter at a distance of 38.7 cm from the bottom. Cotton inner hapa of the tank size is fixed inside it to collect eggs/ spawn from breeding/ incubation pool, respectively.

The Water storage tank (not supplied with the unit) of minimum capacity 2000 liter is required to operate the hatchery unit. The breeding pool and hatching pool are connected to the water storage tank separately or together in the same water line.

Species Suitable for Breeding

The system is suitable in field conditions for breeding of most of the cultured Asiatic carps in India. With some modifications, this system has been used for breeding of Magur (Clarias batrachus); Pangasianodon hypophthalmus; Pabda (Ompok bimaculatus); Tengra (Mystus vittatus & M. gulio); Silver barb (Puntius sp.), etc. In lean season the system can be used for ornamental fish rearing or common carp breeding

Portable FRP Magur Hatchery

Portable magur hatchery fully made up of fibreglass reinforced plastics (FRP) has been designed and developed by ICAR-CIFA, Kausalyaganga for fish farmers, keeping in view its easy transport to different farm sites, low water consumption, easy installation and operation. It is suitable to produce 50,000 fingerlings in one operation. Its components are as follows:

Rectangular Larval Rearing Tank

FRP larval rearing tank is having dimension – 4.0 m (Length) x 0.9 m (Breath) x 0.35 m (Height). Five numbers of continuous stringers of hat section type are given at the bottom and sides to take care of stiffening. A bottom outlet is given with 25 mm diameter socket and plug for removal of water from the tank.

Four

Round Larval Rearing Tank

Circular FRP tank with size 1.5 m diameter and 0.35 m height.

Four

Hatchery (Circular type)

FRP hatchery tank is having diameter 1.5 m, height 0.35 m, and a central outlet of 63 mm diameter at the bottom. The tank is supporting type with a bottom clearance of 75 mm to 100 mm for the outlet pipe to pass outside. Four numbers of duck mouths are fixed equidistant at side walls just above the bottom. Proper stringers of hat section type are given at the bottom to take care of stiffening of the tank and for bottom clearance.

One

Fish Feeding Equipments

Fish feed is the major constituents in different aquaculture production systems. The economy of a fish farm is strongly dependent on the efficiency with which the fish utilize the food supply. Feed account for more than 50-70% of the total operating costs depending on the type of feed used, and the intensity of their management practices. The knowledge about both metabolic needs and feeding behavior of fish is necessary to develop proper feeding strategy. The benefits of different feeders and feeding systems have been reported over time. The demand and automatic fish feeding equipments are advantageous over manual feeding. Manual feeding involves not only manpower but also it leads, quite often to over feeding, waste of food and pollution of water.

Automatic Fish Feeder

An Electro-magnet operated automatic fish feed dispenser of 30 l capacity consisting of four major components viz., Feed hopper, Hopper lid, Housing box and Floating buoy is designed and fabricated for operation in aquaculture system. The feed dispenser is fabricated using FRP material. The housing box incorporates an opening-closing mechanism (Sliding door), electro-magnet/ solenoid switch, transformer, time switches and contractor inside the box. The split-sliding doors fitted with the channel are mounted inside the housing box below the opening of the feed hopper. The ends of the sliding door are connected directly with the soft iron core of the solenoid by mechanical fastener. The sliding movement of door starts when the magnet is energized. The quantity of feed delivered per activation cycle is controlled by adjusting the dials of the captive segments of the timer which can be radically pulled out or pressed in while rotating, when actuating mechanisms come in contact with the pulled out segments. The total feeding unit is placed on the floating structure consisting of HDPE floats fixed on a wooden frame for easy loading of feed materials inside the feed hopper and for its easy installation at the pond site. Research trials indicated that the pellets of 2.5 mm diameter can be delivered at the rate of 993 – 2491 g / cycle with 5.6-39.5 % error at 5 to 15 sec., respectively. The feeder being automatic and suitable for multi feeding on timely basis, resulted in the reduction of feed by 16-19% and saving of time in 31-36% in comparison to the broadcasting method, and thereby providing the farmers with an efficient technique of fish production with minimum efforts.

Demand Fish Feeder

It was developed in the year 2009 with the aim to increase the efficiency in feeding techniques and reduced efforts in manual feeding, and thereby reducing the expenses incurred by the farmers in giving excess feed. The main components of the feeder are 30 l capacity feed hopper and activated mechanisms. The feeder is designed to be installed in a pond with the activating mechanism extending into the water through an activator rod. The activating mechanism includes a steel bait rod, feed platform, feed protecting cover and a pendulum or feeding tray in case of sinking feed. The feed drops by gravity onto an adjustable acrylic feed platform when fish activates the rod. Feed drops by gravity onto an adjustable acrylic feed platform positioned below the hopper and above the water level. An acrylic tube protects the feed platform, which was fitted with hopper. The bait-rod is suspended from the conical tube on V- shaped steel wire that holds the rod. The feeder has been designed to be suspended from a MS pipe stand with the activating mechanism extending into the water through the conical portion of the hopper. It is capable of feeding the ponds of 0.1 ha and which upon its testing resulted in an efficiency of 15% in comparison to the hand feeding techniques. The features such as low cost, maintenance free use, easy to install and operate best suited for the pond/ tanks/ raceways thereby allowing the farmers in the adaption of the technology at a faster rate.

Mobile Fish Vending Unit

The AICRP on PET center at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar has designed and developed a prototype fish vending carriage to be fitted on a three wheeler trolley for enabling the fish vendors to sell more amounts of fish in the market in a single day and that too in a hygienic way. This can be used for vending maximum up to 100 kg fish in ice at any time of the day. Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) is the base material for the carriage. It is 4’x2’9”x2’6” in terms of dimension. The specialty of the carriage is its unibody design as all the facilities and equipments are integrated in to it. An ice box of size 2’x2’9”x2’6” is integrated in the carriage box and packed with 1” thick Polyurethane Foam to serve the insulation factor. The cutting tool is made removable and more than one type of cutting tool can be used. There is also provision of water storage tank of around 20 litre capacity and waste collection crate chamber in the carriage. Tool box is also provided for keeping the cutting tools, money box and other items required during the marketing process.

Live Fish Transportation Tank

Transportation of live fishes in large quantities is always a problem for aquaculture due to lack of proper transporting devices. Use of oxygen filled polyethylene bags is popular among the fish farmers for transportation of fish seed. Transportation of larger fishes including brooders is still a difficult task. Considering the above factors, FRP live fish transportation tank was designed, fabricated and field-tested to carter the needs of fish transportation. It is rectangular in shape (1.6´0.8´1.0 m) with volume 1,280 l suitable for transporting in a jeep trailer or in a power trailer / trolley. It is provided with a top door of 0.66 ´ 0.4 m for water filling and loading of fishes, and a rear side door of 0.3 x 0.25 m at the bottom to drain the water and to release fishes. A vent pipe of 25 mm is provided at the top for facilitating the supply of air / oxygen at the time of necessity. The tank is well suited for transportation of live table fishes for marketing. The experiment indicated that carps of 425 – 1,095 g require 19.74 -70.58 mg O2 / kg fish / hr. The transportation tank with 1,000 l of water fill is able to transport around 100 kg of carps varying the size from 425 – 1,095 g for one hour with partial oxygenation for 10 minutes at every 30 minutes (Aravindakshan et. al 2000 b). The field trials indicated that the system is suitable to transport the live fishes within the radius of 50 km.

Periphyton Growth on Colored Plastic Sheets

The growth of periphyton on plastic sheets serves as the source of natural food for fishes in pond culture system. The production of periphyton in aquaculture ponds pose to reduce the dependency of fishes on artificial feeds and hence by reducing the cost of production of fish for better economic returns. In one experiment setup, iron rods were used to make a frame on which the coloured plastic sheets were fitted in a zig zag manner and the total frame was kept submerged inside water in the pond. Due to this, normal movement of fish in the pond inside the frame zone got bit restricted. So, in order to get the normal fish movement, a different experimental setup was redesigned. The design consisted of a floating sealed 6” dia PVC pipe with hangers for holding colored plastic sheets. Aluminum flats were used to make the hanger clamps for holding ½” PVC pipe from which the plastic sheets were hung. Another ½” PVC pipe was used to act as the sinker to help the plastic sheet hung to get submerged into the water column. The experiment was carried out in two ponds of size 0.1 ha each at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar. Each pond was stocked with 500 fingerlings of IMC. The PVC floating hangers with different colored plastic sheets were installed in one pond and the other was kept without floaters and plastic sheets. Both the ponds were applied with floating fish feed @ 2% of the total fish biomass. Periphytic growth, fish growth and water parameters of each pond were monitored every month. By the end of the experiment, the fishes grew 15% (average) more in the ponds with plastic sheets. It was found that the red colour plastic sheet showed maximum periphytic growth in terms of volume followed by white, blue, black and green. As per the quantitative analysis, on red color sheet more growth was found followed by white, black, blue and green respectively. As per the qualitative analysis the following genera were found on the plastic sheets:

The technology was mainly developed for the low temperature regions, where the temperatures range below 250C. The technology mainly comprised of the two different setups which basically differed in their construction. Te first one being the GI framed polyhouse made out of GI pipes and LDPE film of 200 micron thickness, and the second one being the Bamboo framed even span polyhouse. The results indicated that polyhouse ponds showed 4.50-6.25oC more water temperature than open fishponds and the fish growth inside greenhouse was better in terms of weight-gain and survival due to prevailing higher water temperature. The plankton production was also higher in the polyhouse ponds because of temperature effect which in turn posed to be a reason in higher productivity.

Plastic-lined Ponds

A technique has been developed at ICAR-CIFA to line fishpond with plastic liners. Side slopes of pond were designed as per the angle of repose of the soil. Steps at the vertical interval of 50 cm were provided on the whole side slopes of the pond, and a channel 30 ´ 30 cm on top of it was cut for the purpose of anchoring the LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) sheets, thus, preventing the sheets on the bed and sides of the pond from sliding down. A sand layer of 15 cm thick was made below the liner to smoothen the pond surface and also to provide stability to the liner. Two fishponds of size 11 ´ 7 m top surface area were lined with LDPE (250 micron) sheets covering bottom as well as sides of the pond to control seepage at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar farm. Plastic liner was then covered with soil of 15-30 cm depth to simulate pond condition of earthen pond. LDPE sheets were joined by folding the sheets and pouring hot bitumen inside the folds and pressing it with iron. The cost of lining came out to be Rs 60/m2 (based on 2006 price).

Poly-tent Solar Drier (PSD) for Fish

Poly tent drier 8’ x 8’ x 6’ has been designed using UV film of 200 micron. It is portable. Highest temperature recorded in a sunny day was 49.40C and lowest temperature 300C. Inside temperature of 43-450C was maintained for four hours. The poly-tent dried maximum load of 200 kg fish silage of moisture 75% up to 30% in three days. In one experiment Markendi (small indigenous fish) was tried to develop dry fish in the Polytent solar dryer (PSD). Six hours of active drying (9 AM to 5 PM) was taken for the experiment. During the active drying period in April – May, 2014, the outside temperature range was 38 – 440C; inside temperature 48 – 560C and drying rate was calculated to be 60 g/hr. Initial moisture of 75.5% in the markendi fish was reduced to 8.1% after 12 hours of active drying, giving an excellent dry fish.

Silo Fish Rearing System

Increased fish production can be achieved through horizontal and vertical expansion of the aquaculture systems. Silo, hi-tech aquaculture system comes under the vertical one. Culture of fishes in silos/ vertical-tire system is a new approach, where, the stocking densities are dependent on the volume of water as well as to the height of silos. In order to have low space requirement, FRP silos for recirculatory aquaculture system have been designed and developed at AICRP on PET Centre at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar, where flow-through facility can easily be incorporated for high fish production. FRP silos of 9999, 6666 and 3333 liter capacities with respective heights of 2.7, 1.8 and 0.9 m, each two numbers were fabricated and installed for experimentation purpose. The diameter of the silo is kept 2.15 m. The system is integrated with aeration facility, water recirculation, and biological filtration unit and demand feeders for fish feeding.

Cages for Aquaculture

Cages are most suitable for culture of fishes in large water bodies where the general pond aquacultural practices are not feasible. The size of the cages vary according to the need, species of culture, depth and size of the water body, wind velocity, water current, availability of finance, expertise, materials, etc. Easiness of stocking, harvesting, feeding and monitoring of biological parameters along with the high production potential in the system make it quite adaptable to the aquaculturists. Floating plastic cages were designed and fabricated using Rigid PVC pipes and FRP floats. The cages of 3.0´3.0´1.5 m size each of 6 numbers were arranged in parallel in two rows with a wooden catwalk in between. In each corner of all the cage chambers, FRP floats (45 cm diameter and 32. cm height) were attached to hold the total structure above the water surface. One 3-inch diameter RPVC (Sch-80) was fitted in the centre of the float and was equipped with four numbers of RPVC short pieces (63´250 mm) in a crosswise direction from the top at distances of 7.5, 17.5, 27.5 and 37.5 cm respectively. To make the cage frame for holding nets, 2-inch diameter RPVC (Sch-80) was pushed inside the socket in all directions with nuts and bolts. Five numbers of metallic/ plastic drums (25 l capacity) were used for providing floating support to the wooden catwalk. The number of cages can be varied as per the culture load and species to be reared. These types of cages are suitable for use as floating nurseries. Other types of cages designed and fabricated at the center included the circular ones of 5.0 and 7.0 m diameter made of 75 mm OD HDPE pipes (double collar) with vertical fencing suitable for fish production. The rectangular cages of 13.0´7.0 m size with two chambers were made of GI pipe structures supported with HDPE drum floats suitable for reservoirs having more than 5.0 m depth for rearing different fish species.

Floating Nurseries for Different Stages of Carp Seed Rearing

The technology of floating cage nursery with the dimensions of (1 m x 1m x 1m) for different stages of carp seed rearing was started in the year 2015 with the objective to rear carp seed from spawn to fingerlings stage in the designed floating nurseries in reservoirs. The set up consisted of cages with different mesh size nets attached to the PVC pipe frame structures constructed to float in water. The seeds were reared up to fingerlings and the results indicated that the survival rates were higher for the 1/40 mesh size at a rate of 25.66 % which in turn suggested that the technology was best suitable for the rearing of the seeds in the large water bodies with higher productivity.

COMMERCIALIZATION AND RELEASE OF TECHNOLOGIES

FRP Carp Hatchery Technology was commercialized by ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar for the first time in 2006 and for the second time in 2013. Both the times the license / right of fabrication and sale were given to M/s. MR Aqua Tech, Bhubaneswar. His Excellency the Governor of Odisha, Shri Rameshwar Thakur on 14th July 2006 at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar released the technology.

Commercialized the Portable FRP Magur Hatchery for production of fifty thousand seed per operation in 2008.

Released the product FRP Demand Fish Feeder with holding capacity of 10 kg pellet feed on 16 March 2012.

Released the products Planktofert and Biofert for fish pond fertilization in 86th Annual General Meeting of ICAR, New Delhi on 18 February, 2015. Hon’ble Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh released the products.

Portable plastic hatchery for carps. In: Fish Farming and Technologies for the North Eastern Region: Pond to Plate. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi: 39-42 (in 2006)

Technologies developed on plastics in aquaculture. Plasticulture Research: Research Achievements During the Decade (2003-12), AICRP on Application of Plastics in Agriculture, AICRP Coordinating Unit, CIPHET, Ludhiana: pp 47-51.

As per the communication (F.No.NFDB/Z-II/CIFA/IAP/PFRP-03/2013-14/1348 Dated 28/10/2013) received from the National Fisheries Development Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, Hyderabad the FRP Carp Hatchery Technology became a Technology for the whole nation.

Abstracts presented in Symposia / Seminars / Workshops

Bandyopadhyay, M.K., S.K. Singh and B. Sarkar 1989. Plastics in aquaculture. Souvenir: Forty years of freshwater aquaculture in India held at CIFA, Kausalyaganga.

Bandyopadhyay, M.K., S.K. Singh and B. Sarkar 1991. Growth and production of Ctenopharyngodon idella reared in the plastic cage. National Symposium on New Horizons on Freshwater Aquaculture, 23-25, January, 1991 held at CIFA, Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneswar.

Bandyopadhyay, M.K. 1995, Present status and future strategies of aquaculture extension in India. National Seminar on Current and Emerging Trends in Aquaculture and its Impacts on Rural Development, 14-16 February, 1995, College of Fisheries (OUAT), Berhampur, Orissa.

Mohapatra, B.C., Bikash Sarkar and D.Majhi, 2012. Role of water temperature to the growth of Labeo rohita in solar heated pond. 25th National Convention of Agricultural Engineers & National Seminar on “Advances in use of non-conventional energy sources for agriculture, fisheries and rural development”, 19-20 January, 2012, Institution of Engineers (India), Kolkata. 59 p (Souvenir-cum-Technical Volume).

2nd National Training Program on “Installation and Operation of Portable FRP Carp Hatchery” was organized at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar during 07-10 July, 2015.

National Workshop on “Portable FRP Carp Hatchery Technology” was organized during 11-13 July 2011 at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar on 11 July 2011.

ICAR Special Training Programme On “Portable Carp Hatchery: Its Installation and Operation” for SMS (Fisheries) of KVKs, Zone-VIII was organized during 11-13 March, 2009 at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar.

Workshop on “Portable hatchery for better carp seed production” at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar during 31st August and 1st September, 2007 in collaboration with Orissa Watershed Development Mission (OWDM) and NR International, UK.

Make Orissa a major fish producer: Thakur. The Indian Express, 15 July, 2006.

A new fish hatchery in Diptipur, India. operationagri.com.

AWARDS /RECOGNITIONS

Awards

International

CIGR Journal Outstanding Paper Award-2010 for the high quality scientific publication “Development and Testing of Demand Feeder for Carp Feeding in Outdoor Culture Systems” from the International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (Commission Internationale du Génie Rural (CIGR) (in absentia) on 15 June 2010 during the 17th CIGR World Congress-2010 (12-17 June 2010) held at Quebec, Canada.

National

Best Paper Presentation Award (First Prize) in the International Conference on Plasticulture and Precision Farming, 17-21 Nov., 2005, the Ashok, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture (NCPAH), Govt. of India had organized it.

Scroll of Honour to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from Orissa Watershed Development Mission, Agriculture Department, Government of Odisha for dedicated services for aquaculture development in Western Orissa. The Award was presented in Western Odisha Fish Farmers Mela held at WUAC, Diptipur, Bargarh, Odisha on 7 August 2008.

Life Time Achievement Award to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from the Diocese of Sambalpur, Mission Compound, Bolangir and West Utkal Agricultural Centre, Diptipur, Bargarh, Odisha for the dedicated services to the fish farming communities of Western Odisha in general and Bargarh and Nuapada Districts in particular. This Life-time achievement award was presented to him by Rt. Rev. Pinuel Dip, Bisop, Diocese of Sambalpur in the Pastor Conference held at Raj Khariar, Nuapada District, Odisha on 13 December 2009.

Best Paper Award to AICRP on PET team, ICAR-CIFA from Andaman Science Association, C/o ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair for presenting the paper “Portable FRP Carp Hatchery: A Tool for Biodiversity Conservation in Fisheries” in NSBC-2015 held at ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair during 17-19 April 2015.

Life Time Achievement Award to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from Fisheries Department, Government of Assam for dedicated services for development of aquaculture in Assam as well as NER through introduction of FRP hatcheries for quality fish seed production and training programme in the sector. It was presented during the National Fish Farmers Day-2016 function held at Meen Bhawan, Guwahati, Assam on 10 July 2016.

B. Recognitions

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from Fisheries Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for exemplary team work for “Improved version of FRP portable hatchery for carp seed production” in 2004-2005.

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh for successful commissioning of the hatchery during 17-22 August 2006.

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from Fisheries Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for exemplary team work for “Design, fabrication and demonstration of cages for enhancing fish productivity” in 2005-2006.

Special Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, Odisha for valuable contribution in the field of Application of Plastics in Aquaculture in 2006.

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from NR International, Western Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project, Bhubaneswar for outstanding support for installation and operation of FRP hatchery unit at Diptipur, Bargarh District, Odisha in 2007 and once again received the official appreciation in 2008.

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from ICAR- All India Coordinated Research Project (Application of Plastics in Agriculture), CIPHET, Ludhiana for development of Portable FRP Carp Hatchery Technology on 29 September 2012.

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi for carp breeding, seed rearing and dedicated extension programmes conducted in the DBT sponsored project “Carp seed production in mobile hatchery and rearing for livelihood development of SC/ST communities in selected districts of Odisha” operated at CIFA, Bhubaneswar during 2009-2012.

Letter of Appreciation to Dr B.C. Mohapatra, PI from the Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director Sundarban Tiger Reserve, Directorate of Forests, Government of West Bengal for developing the livelihood of the inhabitants of the Island through implementation of different aquaculture techniques.